Member Review: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

By TGRStaff, on June 16th, 2008

The original Super Smash Bros. was released for the Nintendo 64 on April 26, 1999. It was a very popular 2-D game for its time, but was eventually outdone by new gaming technology. Then, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (SSBB), the third game in the series was released for the Nintendo Wii on March 9, 2008. This new hit game resurrected the so-far trilogy of games, and the spotlight was brought to Brawl.

If you have never played one of the Super Smash Bros. games, then you are probably wondering what the series is about. Well, they are Adventure games starring fictionally animated characters like Mario, Princess Peach, Bowser, Fox, and many more. Your mission is to fight through each of the levels with each character, and (as always) defeat the ’bad guys’. A new twist that was added to Brawl was an actual storyline (or somewhat of a resemblance to one), which brings me to tell you about Brawl’s Single Player. There are two modes of Single Player. Adventure Mode, and Classic. In Adventure Mode, you start out playing with just one character, and as you battle through the levels, you encounter new characters who join you to defeat your enemies. In each level, you can pick up different objects to fight with, and heal yourself with. And once you defeat a level, you go to your map, decide whether to start the next mission or a previous one, and it all starts again. Classic Mode is when you face all of the characters seperately in a battle on their ’home’. Your mission is to defeat each and every one of them until you get to the Master Hand. This is the exact same as how Single Player used to be in the original game, hence the name Classic Mode. Single Player is very basic, but can also be very addicting, depending on what kind of person you are. Multiplayer is almost exactly the same as the original Super Smash Brothers. There is a small course made up of usually one big platform, and several other small platforms, taking up your TV screen. Each of these levels are where you play characters in Classic Mode. The scenery changes depending on what level you choose, and your only objective is to knock your opponent(s) off/out of the course more times than they can do the same to you. Weapons spawn randomly to aid you in your goal, which makes Multiplayer all the more exciting. You can either team up with your friends, or battle them, whichever you prefer, and online play is now available for that extra bit of competetiveness. If you dislike 2-D games, then you will not like Super Smash Bros. Brawl. If you enjoy 2-D games, then Brawl is your dream game.

SSBB has 2-D gameplay with decent graphics for the Wii, along with 3-D cutscenes, which actually have surprisingly good graphics. The characters look much more realistic in the cutscenes, and it looks like an entirely different game. The 2-D side of the graphics look rough around the edges at times, but won’t hold you back from enjoying the game. Like the other chapters of Super Smash Brothers, Brawl has a unique look that is different from most games that you probably play. Even though you can only move left, right, up, and down, the characters still look 3-D. Point is, the graphics don’t take away from the game; if anything, they add on to it.

One of the things that I was disappointed with in Brawl, was the lack of interactivity, my favorite part of the Wii. I was hoping that you would have to whip your arms around to attack someone, instead of just pushing the ’A’ or ’B’ buttons. I think it would have made the game almost perfect, and all the more thrilling. But instead, it was just like any other video game for the Xbox, Playstation, etc. However, this was made up by the unique customization in Brawl. You can take screenshots in-game, view replays of your battles, collect trophies and stickers, and even build your own level! This last option I found very entertaining, you simply use the materials provided to build from scratch. You can then save your level, and play it against opponents just as if it were a standard course.

Well, to sum it all up, I’ll just answer this simple question: Should you buy this game? Definitely. If you have a Nintendo Wii, and are looking for a great new game to buy, then look no further. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is sure to fulfill almost all of your gaming desires.